JOB VACANCIES BY STATE

CV vs. Resume

Curriculum Vitae (CV) and Resumes are both used in job applications. They have the same intent which is to state the facts about the applicant’s application, work experience, skills and accomplishments. The main difference between the two is the way these facts were presented.

The resume is the brief summary of the individual’s work history, educational attainment and relevant skills and accomplishment to the job being applied. An individual can create several resume for different positions or different companies.

The CV on the contrary depicts substantial details on the personal life of an individual. It contains even the voluntary work and social affiliations of the applicant. It is this reason that CV are usually used when applying in academic, medical, scientific and overseas jobs because employers in these industries prefer to know each applicant thoroughly.

Attending Career Fairs

1. Have a pen/pencil and paper available for notes.

2. Bring resumes and a folder or portfolio to hold your materials.

3. Take the time to find out what companies will be represented before the day of the career fair.

4. Research information about the participating companies and organizations prior to approaching the recruiters. Use the Internet, news sources and career fair materials to learn about the companies’ booths you plan to visit. You can impress a recruiter by knowing about his/her company and can discuss its current situation.

5. Use time wisely. Determine where employers are located and in what order to visit them. Focus on three companies that you are truly interested in.

6. Broaden your focus and include many types of employers. For instance, you may not have considered working for a hospital, but hospitals recruit and hire professionals in many different fields (e.g., management, information systems or health care).

7. Be aware of time demands on employers. Do not monopolize an employer’s time. Ask specific questions and offer to follow up after the fair, as appropriate.

8. Be direct. Introduce yourself, including your name and career interests. If you are job-seeking, state the type of position in which you are interested. If you are gathering information, let employers know that you are only interested in materials and information. Remember to use good eye contact and firm handshake. Career fairs are the perfect place to use your elevator speech.

9. Make sure you learn from the recruiter employment and/or hiring trends, skills necessary for different jobs, current openings, salary, benefits, training and other information about the organization. Also make sure you know whom to contact for follow-up discussions.

10. Ask the employer for the next steps in the recruitment process and try to obtain the recruiter’s business card for follow-up discussions/correspondence.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Here is a list of sample interview questions job-seekers can expect, especially at first, in more traditional job interviews.

It’s best to prepare answers to these questions, but don’t memorize your answers so that you come off sounding like a robot; in other words, be prepared for these questions and have an outline or script ready, but don’t worry about remembering your answer word-for-word.

How would you describe yourself?

Why did you leave your last job?

What are your long range and short range goals and objectives?

What specific goals other than those related to your occupation, have you established for yourself for the next ten years?

What do you see yourself doing five years from now? Ten years from now?

What do you expect to be earning in five years?

Why did you choose this career?

Can you explain this gap in your employment history?

How well do you work with people? Do you prefer working alone or in teams?

How would you evaluate your ability to deal with conflict?

Have you ever had difficulty with a supervisor? How did you resolve the conflict?

What’s more important to you – the work itself or how much you’re paid for doing it.

What do you consider to be your greatest strengths and weaknesses?

How would a good friend describe you?

Describe the best job you’ve had.

Describe the best supervisor you’ve ever had.

What would your last boss say about your work performance?

What motivates you to go the extra mile on a project or job?

Why should I hire you?

What makes you qualified for this position?

What qualifications do you have that make you successful in this career?

How do you determine or evaluate success?

What do you think it takes to be successful in a company like ours?

In what ways do you think you can make a contribution to our company?

Do you have any hobbies? What do you do in your spare time?

Have you ever been fired or forced to resign?

What qualities should a successful manager possess?

Do you consider yourself a leader?

What are the attributes of a good leader?

Describe the workload in your current (or most recent) job.

Which is more important: creativity or efficiency? Why?

What’s the most recent book you’ve read?

Describe the relationship that should exist between the supervisor and those reporting to him/her?

What two or three accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction? Why?

Describe the most rewarding experience of your career thus far.

If you were hiring a job-seeker for this position, what qualities would you look for?

Do you have plans for continued study? An advanced degree?

In what kind of work environment are you most comfortable?

How do you work under pressure?

Are you good at delegating tasks?

What’s one of the hardest decisions you’ve ever had to make?

How well do you adapt to new situations?

Why did you decide to seek a position in this company?

What can you tell us about our company?

What interests you about our products?

What do you know about our competitors?

What two or three things are most important to you in your job?

Are you seeking employment in a company of a certain size? Why?

What are your expectations regarding promotions and salary increases?

What criteria are you using to evaluate the company for which you hope to work?

Do you have a geographic preference? Why?

Are you willing to relocate?

Are you willing to travel for the job?

Why do you think you might like to live in the community in which our company is located?

What major problem have you encountered and how did you deal with it?

What have you learned from your mistakes?

What have you accomplished that shows your initiative and willingness to work?

MEDICAL CAREER INFO

A person in the medical field is looked at with great respect, as all medical professionals serve people irrespective of their race, religion, or caste. Individuals working in this sector truly need to be dedicated towards their duty. Let’s know about some of the top career opportunities that are available.

Doctors or Physicians is a person who is responsible for diagnosing illnesses, recommending treatments and prescribing medicines. One can be a doctor in any medical specialization such as surgery, dentistry or as an ENT specialist. Physicians take care of the basic needs of a patient. They carry out their duties with the help of nurses or medical assistants.

Nurses are well known for their undying support for patients and dedication towards their jobs. These professions are very much in demand, due to their availability and higher salary. Their duty is to manage record and treat the patients. To become a nurse, you need a ‘registered nurse’ certification which can be obtained through a bachelors or an associate’s degree, or through vocational certification.

Dietitians or Nutritionists is a medical professional who guides the patients in their daily diet. They also encourage the patient to comply with healthy eating habits. A bachelor degree in the field of food and diet is required to become a dietitian. They prepare meal schedules and recommend special recipes for patients with any food related problem, diabetes, high blood pressure or obesity.

Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) is a certified medical professional who is serves an emergency crew like the paramedic team. When there is a medical emergency like a road accident or a heart attack, they are the first one to step in. For becoming and EMT, there are various levels of professional training one has to go through, like EMT-basic, EMT-intermediate and EMT-paramedic.

There are many more positions available in the medical field. To join the medical field, one should possess the necessary qualifications, and is also required to undergo specialized medical training.

REASON WHY YOU ARE NOT FINDING A JOB?

The main reason that people are not finding a job is not because there are no jobs. It is because of their attitude. The majority of job-seekers have not put themselves in the right frame of mind to do the work needed that will lead them to a becoming employed.

It takes work to become employed; you have to treat the job search like a job, as they say. Recent studies show that the average time currently being spent in job-search is 40 minutes a day. Yes, only forty minutes! Most people are spending more time watching TV or playing a video game than they are doing activities that will lead them to work.

This can be the result of their attitude and the “there are no jobs out there” thinking. People stop themselves and use limiting and forecasting beliefs that there are no jobs available or that they won’t get hired. They listen to the news – TV and print-which sell depressing information about the economy. They believe that this is true and stop any job-search activities. This all-or-nothing thinking creates a defeatist attitude which then leads to feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. A search on JobsMalaysia.gov.my lists over 190,000 job openings. These do not cover jobs that are unadvertised or on company websites. Researching this information is imperative for job seekers to help them understand what is out there; this will then help them to define the type of position they want and to plan out the steps needed to go after them. Having a good resume that profiles your Unique Selling Proposition (USP), or the great skills that are inherent in you, is a must as well as being prepared for the interview. Bottom line – you have to be ready to showcase you. And this is where most people slow down or stop job search activities. They become almost paralyzed with dread and fear of not being “good enough”. Whatever the reason, their attitude prevents them from job hunting. It does get harder day-after-day, especially if you have been unemployed for long period of time. Changing one’s attitude is difficult, at best. There are brain-based reason why this occurs. But changing your attitude is part of the work you need to do as part of your job search; in fact, this should be the first step you take. It will set the course for how you proceed and for how you continue until you reach that job. Here are some quick ways to take an “attitude check” and think more positive. Your career depends on it:

1. Take your pulse. This is where you take some time to review and reflect on your thoughts and feelings, which includes how you feel about finding a job, your fears and blockages that may be ho

lding you back and what you want for your future.

2. Review your post. How have you handled challenges in the past: have you sat back and waited for the situation to pass or have you pushed forward? Again, what were the roadblocks and how you move past them?

3.Set the intention. Take time to decide what you want and how you will use your strengths to achieve them. Write them down, make them visible and say them frequently so they become part of your daily language.

4. Make a plan. Write down, on a calendar or white board, the various ways of how you will plan your days to look for a job. Remember, there are many other ways than just sitting at a computer on a job board. Be sure to include “me time” or activities you can do to keep your physical and emotional level up.

5. Visualize your future. Paint the picture of that job you want; put your job log in a place where you will see it; write down on index cards or post-it notes motivational phrases to get you motivated.

Doing these activities will help you to retrain your brain from negative to positive and give you the edge to continue your job hunt. They also can become good habits to take into the future to make you a great employee!

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AVOIDING JOB SCAMS

How can you protect yourself against scams that come disguised as job advertisements? Be careful when you come across job advertisements that fall into these two main categories:

1. Advertisements that ask you to pay a fee or deposit in order to process your job application;

2. Advertisements that promote pyramid selling or some other similar schemes.

Remember!

1. A real job advertisement will never ask you to pay any money whether by calling it to be processing fee or training fee.

2. A real job advertisement will also not ask you to make a purchase of any kind in order to obtain the job.

3. A real job advertisement will not make you offers that are inconsistent with the job advertised.

4. A real job advertisement will never originate from a public, web-based email address or ask you to reply to one.

TIPS FOR JOB-HUNTING

1. Search every day. New positions are uploaded on job sites like jobsentral.blogspot.com daily. Be the first to respond has its advantage.

2. Do online research. Finding out more about the companies you are applying can be helpful when you are called to interview.

3. Make your resume acceptable online. Many companies ask applicants to submit an electronically formatted resume by providing an online form. Make sure to fill in all the required blanks.

4. Use the cut-and paste format. It is better to send a resume as part of the message body. Most employers have second thought about opening attachments with viruses crawling all over cyberspace.

5. Focus your search. Do not submit resumes for different positions with one employer. Worse, do not blast copies of a general resume to as many firm as possible. Be sure you meet the job's requirement and that you customize resume contents to the particular position.

6. Make a good first impression. Be professional. Do not send a resume that is hard on the eye or use a cute, weird or funny e-mail address.

7. Do not just wait. Work hard to stand above the competition by being proactive and following up on your application to catch the employer's attention

TIPS FOR INTERVIEW

1

. 10 seconds to sell or say long

Unless your resume catches the interviewer’s eye in 10 seconds it’s over, you’re done. So the big question is how do I catch the interviewer’s eye? Here comes the best advice on how to get a job interview you’ll ever get. Cater your resume to the job description! It’s imperative that you cater your resume to each position you apply for. Means by taking each line on the job description and writing a line on your resume to reflect your experience with regard to that line.

Yes, it takes more time than sending the same resume to 100’s of jobs, but you’re far better off applying to a fraction of those jobs with a resume specifically written for each job. Put yourself in the interviewer’s shoes. Their job is to hire the most qualified candidate. They’ve been given a set of qualifications to look for; a.k.a the job description, and that’s exactly what they’re after, so give it to them!

2. Be on time

There is no excuse for it, none! You don’t want a pissed off person interviewing you. Leave extra early, do whatever it takes. Blaming it on traffic or anything else doen’t matter (even if it’s true).

3. Cell phone off

Obvious but easily forgotten, at least it was with 2 of the people interviewed. Double and triple check to make sure your cell phone ringer is turned off.

4. Know the company, and why you want to work there

Google the company you’re interviewing for. Learn as much as you can about the company’s mission, objectives, goals and future plans. If you’re asked why you want to work for the company, you best answer something better then, “I like the company’s location”, which was said.

5. Bring resumes

Your interviewer(s) will likely have a copy of your resume but bring spares. It shows you’re prepared and serious about getting the job.

6. Bring a notepad

Very few people bring a notepad with them to a job interview. It’s a very subtle thing that makes you stand out. Take notes when appropriate.

7. Dress in a clean conservative manner

Make sure you go into a job interview having showered and wearing clean clothes. If you like wearing cologne or perfume, don’t wear any on the day of the interview. What’s subtle smelling to you may be overwhelming to your interviewer.

8. Profiles to private

If you don’t think interviewers Google you or look you on Facebook or MySpace, you’re crazy. Hiring managers I’ve talked to all do this, as one put it, “to weed out people who wouldn’t be a good fit in the company’s culture.” Don’t give them ammo to not like you, set your profile to private.

9. Don’t make jokes

Too many people think they are funny when in reality they’re not. A job interview isn’t the place to test your material. Be friendly and outgoing, save the jokes.

10. Don’t babble

When answering question, answer the question. Don’t start out answering a question and then veer off to talk about something else. Make sure your answer directly reflects the question being asked.

11. Don’t badmouth a boss

Bad mouthing a previous boss in a job interview is a huge negative. They may have been the worst boss in the world but expressing that in a job interview is a huge mistake.

12. Don’t flirt with the interviewer

Common sense but needs to be stated.

13. Don’t play with your face/hair

Interviews can be a nervous experience but rubbing your chin, twirling your hair or anything else along those lines makes you look like you’re lying or lacking confidence, both not good.

14. Less is more

Sometimes certain details of your life are better left unsaid.

15. Have good eye contact

Staring at the floor, ceiling or wall when speaking or listening makes you appear disinterested. Again, simple and obvious but happens way more then you’d think.

16. Have goals

Maybe you don’t have any idea where you want to be in a few years professionally but figure out something to say. If you don’t and you’re asked, you appear un-ambitious, which leads an interviewer to think you’d be a lazy employee.

17. Have accomplishments

Be prepared to talk about something that you’re proud accomplishing, whether professionally or personally (or a failure and what you learned from it).

18. Have passion

Be able to express why you want to work in that field/industry and what you do to further your knowledge (books, blogs you read). The more intelligent or informed you are the more impressive you’ll look.

19. Ask questions

At the end of the job interview make sure you have some questions to ask. If the interviewer doesn’t offer a chance, ask to ask. Again, it reinforces your strong interest in the job.

20. Send a thank you note

It’s easy to send an email but take the extra effort to mail your interviewer a hand written thank you note. It reinforces your interest in the job. It doesn’t need to be long, just make it sincere.

There you have it. The best job interview tips you’ll ever get. Stick to them and you’ll be on your way to getting hired!